


Snapshots

by perilousgard



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-28
Updated: 2014-04-28
Packaged: 2018-01-21 04:42:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1538015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perilousgard/pseuds/perilousgard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three moments in time with Ed and Winry as their lives change and their family grows.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snapshots

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this for ~ohlookitscazz on tumblr as a belated birthday present.

Ed didn’t know quite what to make of his newborn son.

Winry had decided she would be most comfortable giving birth at home, and they’d called in a local doctor to help deliver when the time came. Al and Mei had both traveled from Xing a few days prior, after Ed wrote them to say that her due date was close. Even Colonel Bastard and Hawkeye were there, on temporary leave from their new stations in Ishval. Only Ed was allowed to stay in the room while Winry endured ten long hours of labor, letting her squeeze his hand as hard as she wanted while she fought through every contraction. There were several times that he wondered if he would ever get the feeling back in that hand.

When their son was born, shortly before dawn, his first cries seemed to come to Edward from very far away. Was it possible for this to be real? The last nine months had been real enough, he thought, but now he felt almost like he was in a dream. For a brief, sweeping moment, he was afraid to look at the baby. In his infrequent nightmares, Winry had given birth to a horrible, misshapen thing that looked terrifyingly similar to his transmuted mother. But that wasn’t possible, was it? There’s no way they could have –

“Ed,” said Winry breathlessly, her voice thin with exhaustion, “look at your son.”

The doctor had cleaned up the baby and passed him onto his mother. Winry was cradling him carefully, almost like she was afraid he would break in her arms. He was tiny, a wrinkly, red thing with a dusting of fine hair on his head. Edward leaned over to get a better look, moving into the space on the bed that his wife made for him. The two of them stared down at the fragile new life they had created.

Ed had studied biology fairly extensively, when he was a little younger. In his mind, he remembered the pages of diagrams outlining the human body, the reproductive system, the science which explained the miracle of life. It was so simple, in theory, and back then he’d foolishly believed that alchemy could produce the same results. But there was no formula for this, no catalogue of ingredients, no array that could ever hope to come close.

“What were we thinking?” he mumbled to himself. “We really believed alchemy could solve everything.”

“Ed? If you just said something about alchemy, I’m gonna kill you.”

“It was nothing,” Ed replied, feeling like he wanted to laugh hysterically. Leaning over, he kissed Winry and rested his palm against the top of his son’s head. The skin beneath his fingers was warm and soft, malleable in an almost frightening way.

She tilted her head, studying his face. “You look terrified.”

“Yeah? You don’t look too steady, yourself.” Her face was flushed, her arms trembling slightly around their new baby. Part of that was exhaustion, but he could see the fear and uncertainty in her eyes.

“Guess we look like new parents then, huh?”

“God, we’re actually _parents_ now…shit.”

“Ed, don’t curse around the baby.”

“Win, he’s _minutes old,_ I don’t think he can understand me.”

“You’re going to have to start breaking the habit.”

“We can worry about it when he’s a little older.”

“Huh, look, they’re already arguing.”

Mustang stood in the doorway, Hawkeye at his side. Al squeezed past them, his eyes lighting up when he saw the baby in Winry’s arms. Mei came with him, looking equally delighted, though her eyes were brimming with tears the way they did when her emotions got the best of her.

“Brother, Winry, he’s beautiful!” Al exclaimed, coming to stand on Ed’s side of the bed. “Brother, he looks just like you.”

“What? He does?”

“Yeah, look at his eyes.”

“Oh. I guess he does…”

“I’m guessing that means he’ll inherit your _vertical limitations_ , then.”

“Hey, shut up!” Ed snapped at Mustang, though for once there wasn’t much malice in his voice. The Colonel was smiling at him in a way he never had before, and Hawkeye’s eyes had a warmth in them that he had rarely glimpsed. Ed saw, with some surprise, that they were holding hands. He’d save a comment about that for later.

Mei reached into her robes and pulled out a small, wrapped bundle. “I brought incense,” she explained, unwrapping it and pulling out three slender sticks and a burner. “In my country, we burn it to ask the spirits to bless the addition of a new family member. May I?”

“Of course,” Winry said with a tired smile, and Ed brushed her hair back from her forehead to press a kiss against her temple. She leaned against him. A few moments later, the room smelled lightly of something dark and musky, which wasn’t entirely unpleasant, but Ed was glad Mei didn’t make a habit of burning this stuff when she visited.

“What are you going to call him?” asked Hawkeye quietly, after a moment.

Winry and Al looked at each other, then back at their friends. “You know, we were hoping you might be able to help us decide,” said Ed.

“You should name him after me, of course,” said Mustang. “Roy Jr!”

“You could call him Tai Yang!” Mei suggested. “It means ‘bright’, like his hair.”

Al scratched his head. “I don’t know, Brother. You know, ‘Ed’ isn’t such a bad name.”

Ed wrinkled his nose, and he could tell without looking that Winry was wearing a similar expression. “Okay, maybe we _won’t_ ask you guys for help.”

-

The sun was going down by the time they headed back towards home. Ed carried Alec, who was drooling in his sleep against his shoulder, and Winry had baby Sara, who was similarly slumbering in her baby sling. They were quiet as they passed the river, and Winry’s free hand reached out to entangle with his.

“You know,” said Edward, after a beat, “I’ve been invited to teach at the university in Central.”

“Oh?” Winry looked at him, her eyebrows rising. “When did that happen?”

“Earlier this week. I got a letter with a formal offer of employment. I was going to tell you about it dozens of times, but somehow we kept getting sidetracked.”

“It’s been a busy week,” she agreed. They had spent the better part of yesterday trying to keep Alec from getting into everything at the shop. He was pretty good at walking, but now he could also _run,_ and his favorite thing seemed to be running away from his parents when they were trying to keep him from doing something. Winry had spent almost twenty minutes scrubbing oil out of his hair. Prior to that, Winry had found herself so overwhelmed with clients that Ed had spent his first entire day alone with both Alec and Sara, which had exhausted him so much that when Winry had finally gotten home, he’d been passed out on the couch with both of them. “Anyway, how did this happen?”

“Well, it looks like one of the department heads over there read my thesis,” he said. “You know, about the Book of Artephius?”

“Most of that stuff goes right over my head.”

“Right. Well, anyway, I suppose he liked my interpretation. And then he checked into me, found out I used to be the Fullmetal Alchemist. I guess that was a pretty big factor in the offer.”

“Probably.” Winry shifted the baby’s weight against her back. “So, what are you gonna do?”

“Well, I wanted to run it by you first,” he said. “I’d have to teach classes there at least three times a week. And Central isn’t exactly close to Risembool.”

“Are you suggesting we move?”

“No! I mean…I’m not trying to suggest anything. I just want to know what you think.”

Winry’s lips twisted. “It’s a huge opportunity for you, Ed, and I think you’d make a great teacher.”

“But?” He could sense the word hesitating on the tip of her tongue.

“But,” she said with a nod, “I’ve really built up a name for myself here. We have a home here, and this is the only place our kids have ever known.”

“I know. That’s why I wanted to discuss it with you.”

She puffed out a breath, and it stirred her bangs. “What’s the automail market like in Central?”

“I’d guess there’s a market for it there. Plenty of soldiers are stationed in Central, and I know there’s a community of Ishvalan veterans there. I don’t know how high the demand is for mechanics, though.”

Winry nodded. “I suppose you had better check.”

Ed raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying you’d be okay with it? Moving?”

“I’m saying I’d consider it. It’s hard to imagine living anywhere other than Risembool, though.” She glanced at the river, at the endless expanse of green grass stretching towards the horizon, and the breeze pulled lightly at her long hair. Ed knew what she was thinking – _how could there be any place more perfect than this to raise our children?_

He squeezed her hand. “I think the kids would like Central. There’s a lot to do there. And good schools, from what Mrs. Hughes tells me. Elysia’s starting third grade this year.”

“What about Granny?” asked Winry. “She’s getting older…and we’re all she has.”

Ed hesitated. “She could always come with us. I know she doesn’t help you much with the shop anymore, but she could help us with the kids.” He and Pinako didn’t always get along, but he found he didn’t like the idea of her being alone in Risembool any more than Winry did.

“I guess we have a lot to think about,” she said, just as their house came into view. The lantern was already lit, the only light in the gathering darkness save for the smattering of stars above their heads.

Ed hummed in agreement, and as they started up the hill, Alec stirred against his back. “S’dark,” he mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

“’Course it’s dark, kid. You’ve been asleep for almost an hour,” Ed said, craning his neck to look back at his son. “You always fall asleep when we go walking.”

“Wanna run,” said Alec, kicking his legs.

Ed chuckled, crouching so that he could let the small boy off his back. “Okay, you can run,” he said, “but be careful. Wait for us at the steps.”

The toddler took off, his little legs wobbly but fast, and Ed watched, ready for him to fall the way he usually did when his legs got ahead of the rest of his body. Beside him, Sara was also starting to wake up, and Winry turned so that he could get the baby out of the sling. Her little face crumpled and she started to cry almost as soon as he got hold of her.

“Oh, she’s always cranky after her nap,” said Winry, watching Alec out of the corner of her eye.

“She’s probably hungry. Aren’t you, princess?” He lifted her up, looking into wide, watery blue eyes. “Actually, I’m starving, too. Think Pinako left us any dinner?”

“If not, there are leftovers in the fridge,” Winry said, bending down to scoop Alec up again before he could attempt to climb the stairs.

“Ugh, isn’t that potato soup gone yet?” Ed whined as they opened the front door.

“No, because you’ve turned it down the past three nights.”

“I can taste the _milk_ in it.”

“Oh, please! It can’t be _that_ bad.”

“You’d say the same thing if you hated milk!”

“You’re just being a baby. Granny? We’re home!...”

-

“Ed? Ed, the baby’s crying again…”

“Huh?” Edward shook off the last vestiges of a deep sleep as he realized Winry was shaking his shoulder. It was the middle of the night; the only light in their room came from the window, where the dull yellow of streetlamps outlined the shape of her body. He started to sit up, but realized they had company in the bed. On his other side, Sara was curled up against his bare back, one thumb popped into her mouth. And there was Alec on Winry’s side, limbs askew and his mouth wide open. Ed shifted Sara over gently before he sat up, so he wouldn’t wake her. “What are the kids doing in here?”

“Sara came in awhile ago because she had a nightmare,” Winry whispered.

“And Alec? He hasn’t slept with us in ages.”

She shrugged a little, seemingly as mystified as he was. “Maybe he was just jealous.”

“I think we need a bigger bed,” Ed said quietly, half-grumbling as he scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up. Yawning, he grabbed his robe from the back of his desk chair, trying to ignore the large stacks of books he had left strewn all over it before they’d gone to bed. Writing a book was turning out to be harder than he imagined it, and his deadline was rapidly approaching. He was frequently tempted to work on it all night, but Winry insisted that he needed to sleep. She ignored him when he reminded her how often _she_ used to pull all-nighters for her own work.

Their one-year-old daughter stayed in the room adjacent to theirs, which is where Sara had slept when they had first moved to Central. Just before their newest addition was born, Al had come to help them transform the room into two rooms, because they were running out of room in the apartment. They hadn’t really _planned_ on having another baby, especially not this soon (Sara was only two), but it hadn’t really put much of a strain on them, all things considered. They had more than enough financial stability between Winry’s automail shop and his tenure at the university. And yeah, he liked kids. He could admit it to himself.

“What’s wrong, Trisha?” he asked, scooping the little girl out of her crib. “Why are you crying like that, huh?” He held her against his shoulder, walking to the window, and gazed down at the quiet street while he tried to calm her down. It was raining, and the water against the glass made the buildings look like ink running down a canvas. This part of Central could be busy during the day, but this late at night, there was very little traffic. Even so, it had taken him and Winry awhile to get used to the sounds of a big city after dark. In Risembool, all they’d ever heard was crickets.

After almost two years, it was finally starting to feel like home.

When Trisha kept on crying, Ed sighed and moved away from the window. “Let’s see if you’re hungry,” he murmured, carrying her down the hall towards the kitchen. Just as he reached the living room, though, the phone suddenly rang.

Ed froze. Who would be calling at this hour? He had no idea what time it actually was, but if he had to guess, it was still several hours before dawn. Could it possibly be Mustang? Yes, that bastard was just irritating enough to call him in the middle of the night to discuss election strategies again. Growling under his breath, Ed caught the phone up quickly and balanced it against his shoulder. “This had better be good.”

_“Brother!”_

“Al?” Edward nearly dropped the phone in surprise. He hadn’t heard from his brother in months, not since his and Mei’s brief visit to the city. “What are you – I know there’s a time difference, but do you even realize how late it is here?”

 _“I know, I’m sorry!”_ said Al, and he really didn’t sound sorry at all. _“I had to call you. Mei just had the baby!”_

“What?!” Ed shouted, and then winced as Trisha gave an answering wail. “I thought she wasn’t due for another few weeks! We were going to come to Xing for that!”

_“I’m sorry! We didn’t have time to tell you…she went into labor early. We thought something was wrong, but apparently…it’s really common for twins to be born really early!”_

Edward nearly dropped the phone. “She had twins?!”

 _“Yeah, shocked us both too! I actually fainted for a bit when I found out.”_ He laughed, sounding deliriously happy. _“We have a boy and a girl. Their names are Meiling and Jun.”_

“Shit, Al.” Ed really couldn’t think of anything else to say. Distractedly, he offered Trisha a finger, hoping she would suck on it and stop crying. “Well, congratulations! How does it feel?”

 _“Scary,”_ Al replied. _“They’re both so little. They’re actually going to be at the hospital for a little while, until they get bigger.”_

“Is everything okay?”

 _“Yeah, they’re doing fine! The doctors tell us we shouldn’t worry. Mei won’t_ stop _worrying, of course. And I admit I’ll feel better when we get them home.”_

“I’m glad they’re healthy,” said Ed, and sighed in relief when Trisha finally took the bait and started mouthing at his knuckle. “We’ll have to book our train tickets a little early.”

_“Oh, you can probably wait another week or so at least, until we can leave the hospital. Plus, Mei is recovering from surgery. We had to do a cesarean.”_

“Oh, wow.” Winry’d had a c-section when Sara was born, because of the way she had been positioned. It had taken her at least six weeks to fully recover. “You want us to just come when we originally planned?”

_“That might be a good idea. I really want to see you all, though. How is Trisha?”_

“Slobbering all over me as we speak. You had pretty good timing; I was just up trying to get her to stop crying.”

_“I bet she’s a lot bigger than the last time I saw her.”_

“She is, yeah. They grow fast when they’re little.”

_“And Winry’s doing well? And Sara, and Alec?”_

“All of them are fine. Alec’s going to be starting school next year, if you can believe it. And Winry’s got a pretty steady stream of clients at her shop now.”

 _“I’m sure she’s happy about that.”_ Ed suddenly heard a muffled female voice on the other side of the line. _“What?—Oh, okay, I’m coming. Sorry, Ed, we’re about to take the babies on a morning walk.”_

“That’s all right. Call us again soon, okay? Let us know how everything’s going.”

_“I will. And Mei sends her love.”_

Edward grinned in the dark. “Likewise. I’ll talk to you soon, little brother.”

_“Okay. Have a good night, Brother!”_

Ed set down the phone, still shaking off the shock, and crossed the room to the coffee table, picking up Trisha’s pacifier. He replaced his finger with that, and Trisha sucked on it happily. He wondered if she was teething already.

When he got back to bed, Winry was passed out, almost exactly where he had left her. Sara had rolled to the middle so that she was pressed up against her mother; the two kids made a neat little Winry sandwich. Yawning again, Ed slipped off the robe and gently climbed back in, the bed creaking beneath his weight. When he laid his head down, he nearly got a mouthful of Sara’s lightly scented hair. Brushing it back carefully, he gazed from her to his wife, and then to their oldest son. He thought about what they would say when he told them Al had had twins. Winry would probably be too excited to even sit still.

That was something to look forward to in the morning.

Edward went back to sleep, listening to the rain pattering against the window of their little home.

-

_End_

 


End file.
